Browsing: J.T. Miller

Not breaking any news or telling you anything you don’t know here, but I certainly expect Rangers GM Jeff Gorton to have a very busy couple of days in Buffalo, where the first round of the NHL entry draft takes place tonight and the remaining rounds on Saturday. The Rangers,…

You can go up and down the Rangers 2015-16 roster and be hard-pressed to find more than a couple who met or, arguably, exceeded expectations. You could sure make a case for J.T. Miller being one. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, time and time again, talked about “the process” through which…

From the NHLPA and the NHL: TEAMS COMPLETE ROSTERS FOR WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY 2016 173 NHL Players Selected To Compete in Best-on-Best International Tournament; Two Blue-Chip Prospects for 2016 NHL Draft Also Named TORONTO (May 27, 2016) – All eight teams announced today their final, 23-man rosters for the…

Been thinking a lot, not just since the season ended for the Rangers, but for quite a while before that, about the way they defend. But first a couple of disclaimers. First, and foremost, I am not even going to pretend to understand the small details of the system employed…

Rebuild? Forget it. Not happening. The Rangers aren’t going to rebuild, nor can they. At least not in terms of tearing down the current roster and replacing a lot of pieces. It can’t happen with the team up against the salary cap, and it can’t happen because of no-move, no-trade…

When you make a decision on a coach, you’d better be right. When you make a decision on a coach, you’d better think more about the future than the past. There is no way to know how Jeff Gorton, the Rangers’ first-year general manager, feels about the job coach Alain…

Game 5: Penguins 6, Rangers 3. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) Well, that was fairly predictable. I know a lot of you guys held out hope, and with good reason. You counted on the core of this team that had…

Alain Vigneault just spoke to the media in Pittsburgh. Said he has a game-time decision to make on defense. Sounds like the same group of forwards, which means Oscar Lindberg stays in, and Kevin Hayes remains scratched. On defense, the obvious options would be for Raphael Diaz or Dylan McIlrath…

Game 4: Penguins 5, Rangers 0. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) Heave Ho, three in a row? As in three straight wins? As in three straight years coming back from 3-1 down? 2) Not bloody likely, especially since this is…

I’m going on the FAN radio in Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. You can listen online at 937thefan.com. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said he’s pondering some lineup changes at forward and on defense for Game 4, which likely means Oscar Lindberg’s speed goes in for Kevin Hayes, and Eric Staal moves to…

Game 3: Penguins 3, Rangers 1. Click here to read my game story from lohud.com. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Click here for Alain Vigneault’s post-game press conference video. Thoughts: 1) After so many games this season, in which I didn’t think…

Ryan McDonagh skated with the extras this morning, and will have his injured right hand examined by a doctor this afternoon. If he gets the OK, he could play tonight. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said that if McDonagh does not play, he still hasn’t decided whether to use Dylan McIlrath…

Game 2: Rangers 4, Penguins 2. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) Hey, all year long, we knew – or thought — that game was in there. It’s just that the Rangers didn’t let it out nearly enough. But in an…

We should have word on Henrik Lundqvist when Alain Vigneault meets the media in Pittsburgh around 1:10. Stay tuned to the widget on the right for news as it breaks. Also, according to the AHL website, the Rangers have not recalled anybody (Raphael Diaz) today. So we’re assuming Dylan McIlrath…

The Rangers’ best and most important player is expected to be available for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Penguins Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh. But a lot more than that has to happen for the Rangers to make a series of it, after dropping the opener in…

Game 1: Penguins 5, Rangers 2. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) This is like shootin’ fish in a barrel. It’s almost too easy. There’s not a lot of analysis required, because A) you all saw it and it sure wasn’t…

Here are my first-round series matchups, and below my series-by-series predictions. As always, I’d love to see your picks today. Maybe, if we can get a volunteer from our regulars to do the accounting, I can award a prize or two or three to the best selectors. No promises. Rangers-Penguins…

Islanders 4, Rangers 1. Click here to read my game story from lohud.com. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) In a results-oriented business, I continue to be surprised at how the Rangers brush off the results and insist they played well.…

Rangers 4, Blue Jackets 2. Click here for the boxscore with links to the official game summary, etc. Thoughts: 1) They’re in. That’s the best thing you can say about the Rangers right now. We have no idea who they’re going to play, or when. More importantly, we have no…

Again, the Rangers can clinch a playoff spot with a win. Simple as that. There are a bunch of other ways they can get in over the last four games, but the easiest is with a win. They play their final road game of the regular season, looking to snap…